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Monday, 7 May 2012

Fabric Basket Tutorial...

A couple of weeks ago, I made this little fabric basket for a baby shower. It's a quick and easy present to make. Does it look familiar? That's right. It's the same shape as the fabric basket I made for the Typography Challenge.

Today I'll show you how to make your own fabric basket, which measures 6" x 6" x 3".

Materials:

2 pieces 10 inches x 8 inches - main colour for the outside of the bag

2 pieces 10 inches x 8 inches - contrast colour for the lining

2 pieces 10 inches x 8 inches - interfacing

I used a medium to heavy weight, woven sew-in interfacing, but you could substitute this with a different weight interfacing, with iron-on interfacing or with batting. It all depends on the look you are after. I wanted my basket to be able to stand up by itself.

Instructions:

All seams are 3/8" (1cm), unless otherwise indicated.

Outside of bag - sew front to back:

I sew the interfacing to the fabric, before I sew, to stop any movement. If you are using iron-on interfacing, follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Sew the interfacing to the wrong side of each outside piece of fabric. Sew close to the edge of the fabric.

With right sides of the main fabric together, sew the side and bottom seams.

Make boxed corners.

Making the box corner:

Measure 1.5 inch from the corner seam (don't measure from the edge of the fabric) in both directions and on both sides of the fabric.

Put a mark to show where 1.5 inch is. You will have four marks.

Pull out the sides of your bag.

Place one seam on top of the other seam.

Put your pin through the top mark. If the pin comes out through the mark on the other side, your boxed corner will line up.

If the pin is not coming out through the mark on the other side, reposition the fabric until it does.

Face the seams in opposite directions to reduce bulk.

Take the pin out and hold the fabric in place. If you would like, hand sew in place to hold.

With a ruler, draw a line across the fabric.

Sew across the line. I sew a couple of times for reinforcement.

Cut the fabric and neaten.

Repeat for the other side.

Sewing the lining:

Sew the two side seams.

Sew the bottom seam, leaving a gap of 3 inches.

Probably not necessary, but I neaten the edges.

Make boxed corners as per the outside of the bag.

Attach the lining to the outside of the bag:

Place the bag inside the lining. ie: the right side of the bag is next to the right side of the lining.

Line up the top edges of the lining and the outside.

Baste (hand sew) the top edges of the lining and the outside.

Sew a 3/8inch seam to join the top edges of the lining and the outside of the bag.

Neaten the seam.

Turn the bag right side out:

Put your fingers through the hole in the bottom of the lining.

Gently pull the right side of the bag out through the lining.

Topstitch the gap in the lining.

Finishing off:

Push the lining back into the bag.

Iron the top edge of the bag.

Topstitch 1/8inch (3mm) from the edge, around the top of the bag.

Fold over the top about 1.5".

You have finished your fabric basket. It's now time to fill it with goodies.

Yeah, I know the stripes don't line up. Hey, once it's filled no one will see it. If you are using striped fabric, positon the stripes so they line up, when you are cutting the fabric.

I filled my basket with baby goodies from Little Ladybird and some books. The present went down well at the baby shower.

You can, of course, make the basket in different sizes and for different purposes. Just adjust the measurements and fabric.

Leave me a link in the comments, to any fabric baskets you make using this tutorial. I'd love to have a look.

I love the basket and was just thinking yesterday, as I wrapped a birthday present, that it might be a good idea to make some cloth bags for presents. This is even better. Lovely colours. Clever idea and instructions very clear.

Love the tutorial. I am going to have to try this out. I found your lovely blog on Polk a dot link party. Love looking around your lovely blog. Have a great Mother's Day. I am a new follower too. Love for you to stop by www.homesweetbutterfly.com

Hi Pam, this is lovely, thanks for the tutorial. I have just selected my fabrics and will make one for my mum who had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and is visiting us for the weekend. Will come back and let you know how it turned out. Irina xx

I so want to have a go at making this but I can't work out what size I would need to cut my fabric to make a slightly smaller box that was 4 inches square by 4 inches tall. Are you able to help me please?! Thank you :-)

I've made a denim fabric basket that is roughly 4" x 4". Try following the instructions for the small basket, adding maybe 1/2" to all measurements for seam allowances. It will end up taller than 4", but I folded mine down and it is 4". I'd love to see yours finished if you end up making one.

Hello Pam. I'm very pleased I happened across your lovely blog. I've made one of your fabric baskets and intend to make many more. I love them. Thank you. My blog is http://mandy-pipe.blogspot.fr if you want to see a photo.

Thank you very much for this tutorial, I used it make Easter Baskets. You can see my blog post about the project on http://skimmingstones.co.za/sewing-lined-quilted-easter-baskets-bags/ I have back linked to this post

I must try this! I like this basket more than the ones I make with 4 tabs. I guess I'm tired of sewing on buttons! haha Thank you for the tutorial! I've saved it to make one as soon as I'm finished with my first 'nightmare' quilt! LOL

My SIL is due any day! I think I will try this a little larger and use thin strips of Velcro to secure the layers along the top stitching but put panels of cardboard in between the layers so the sides will be more rigid.